Check out the results of the 100-day Lawn transformation, from muddy mess to grassy showpiece, by moving the slider back and forth. (Photos by Mitch Powers and Julia Weaver, University Communications)
Restoring the Lawn Was a Sod Job
Just after torrents of rain slashed across the Lawn in May, the high heels, wedges, flip flops, dress shoes and sneakers of more than 7,000 degree recipients became weapons of grass destruction.
Over two days of graduations, the University of Virginia’s iconic Lawn was bludgeoned into a soggy, muddy mess. Groundskeepers and landscapers had roughly 100 days to get the University’s grassy centerpiece back in shape ahead of the new school year. How did they pull it off?
The work started a year earlier when members of UVA’s “Turf Crew” laid Bermuda sod on the parts of the Lawn that take the harshest beating during Final Exercises, according to Jonathan Racey, the Turf Crew supervisor. The hope was the more resilient grass would bounce back quicker.
But two days of heavy rains ahead of the 2024 processions left ponds of standing water that workers filled with mulch and a mix of fine gravel and sand called “honey dust.” In some spots, the fill was six inches thick. It made the Lawn walkable, but it also required as many as 20 crew members from across the University to shovel and remove the material after graduates and their families departed.
Two days of rain overwhelmed the Lawn’s drainage ahead of May’s Final Exercises and tens of thousands of traipsing feet mushed the grass into mud. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
Then, the workers used backpack blowers to dry out the grass and stand up the blades. Next, the Turf Crew mowed the grass, aerated and spread almost 3,000 pounds of seed in two separate applications. All summer, they nursed the Lawn back to health with water and fertilizer.
The year-old Bermuda sod “really started to bounce back and fill back in nicely this past summer,” Racey said. “Having that as a base was very helpful to the recovery and restoration of the Lawn. We are hopeful that we can expand these areas in the near future with more Bermuda sod so that the Lawn can bounce back more strongly and quickly each and every summer, always looking its best for both Opening Convocation and Final Exercises, and hopefully, all throughout the year.”
And, as you can see in these photographs, the Lawn is back to its lush, iconic self, all thanks to the Turf Crew and the dozens of other landscape crewmembers who came to its rescue.
After two days of Final Exercises processions, the Lawn looked more like a mucky farm field than the centerpiece of a UNESCO World Heritage site. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
Using backpack blowers, members of UVA’s “Turf Crew” dried out the grass and helped the blades stand back up. Then, they mowed the grass and aerated the turf. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
The Turf Crew scattered nearly 3,000 pounds of grass seed in two applications over the summer, and carefully coaxed the new sprouts with water and fertilizer. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
Even though the summer months are a challenging time to grow grass, UVA’s Turf Crew persevered, and brought the lushness back to the Lawn. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
Now the Lawn is again ready for picnics, Frisbees and frolicking on four legs or two. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
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November 25, 2024
